Jaycee Cheerleading information Spots are still open on some Jaycee basketball cheer squads. They especially need girls between the ages of 6 and 11. Please call program director Jennifer C. White at 507-KIDS (5437) as soon as possible to register. Jaycee cheer coaches are also reminded that their schedules are posted in both gym. They…

NEW YORK (AP) Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins was a unanimous pick for the American League Cy Young Award on Thursday, rewarded for a stellar second half that helped his team win its third straight division title. Santana went 20-6 and led the AL with a 2.61 ERA and 265 strikeouts, going 13-0 with…

Picking against the leader on every game didn’t pan out as well as sports editor Rob Nunley expected. In last week’s predictions, only Notre Dame’s win over Tennessee went Nunley’s way, as he fell to last place in the season standings. “Looking back, it was all worth it to see those UT fans cringe,” Nunley…

(AP) NASCAR lifted its ban on hard-liquor ads on cars Wednesday, easing restrictions aimed at cleaning up the image of a sport that traces its roots to good ol’ boys running moonshine through the hills of Georgia and the Carolinas. “We felt the time was right,” NASCAR president Mike Helton said. “Attitudes have changed, and…

NASHVILLE (AP) Titans quarterback Steve McNair throws on the sideline during a recent game. Despite being out of action for over two weeks, the Titans’ signal-caller is still suffering pain from his bruised sternum. Steve McNair wants to help his Tennessee Titans start winning games while redeeming his own sub-par performance this season. Now if…

By ROB NUNLEY Lady Pioneer head coach Ann Eades instructs her squad during a regular season game last year at Coffee County. Eades and the Lady Pioneers will travel to Shelbyville this weekend for four preseason games. The Lady Pioneer basketball team will see its first live competition of the season this weekend, as it…

NASHVILLE (AP) Gov. Phil Bredesen announced Wednesday he will dissolve TennCare, dropping up to 430,000 people from Tennessee’s financially troubled supplemental Medicaid program. TennCare had been devouring a larger chunk of the state’s budget, so Bredesen decided to return to a cheaper, basic Medicaid program. “The sad reality is we can’t afford TennCare in its…

HATTIESBURG, Miss (AP) Two-year-old Robert Kimery, with red and white balloons in hand, stood at attention Thursday and saluted thousands of National Guard soldiers who will soon be heading to Iraq. “I’m proud of all of them for what they’re doing,” Regina Kimery said as she kept watch over her son while searching for her…

Jim Mullen My mother always told me to wear clean underwear in case I was in an accident. It didn’t occur to me until years later that there were plenty of other good reasons to wear clean underwear. Why didn’t my mother ever say: “You should always wear clean underwear because dirty underwear is disgusting”?…

The Jackson Sun The news just keeps getting worse for Tennessee. This time, it came in the form of a report on state health from the Minnesota-based United Health Foundation. According to the report, Southern states occupied 11 of the bottom 12 spots in the survey. Worse, Tennessee ranked in the bottom three, along with…